Improvement in yarn or thread guides for knitting-machines



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

v A. B. JOHNSON. YARN on THREAD GUIDE FOR KNITTING-MACHINES.'No.176,315.

Patented April 18, 1876.

N- PEI'ERS. FHOTWLIYHDGRAPMER, WASH 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

A. B. JOHNSON. YARN on THREAD GUIDE FOR KNITTING-MACHINES. No. 176,315.

Patented Apri118, 1876.

UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED B. JOHNSON, OF NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO NORFOLK ANDNEW BRUNSWICK HOSIERY COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN YARN OR THREAD GUIDES FOR KNITTING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 176,3!5, dated April18, 1876; application filed I October 23, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED BENJAMIN JOHNSON, of New Brunswick, in thecounty 1 0f Middlesex and State of New Jersey, have made an invention ofcertain new and useful Improvements in Yarn or Thread Guides forKnitting-Machines; and that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription and specification of the same.

In the operation of knitting-machines it frequently happens that aneedle or a sinker is broken, and that the contact of one or the otherwith the yarn-guide causes a further breakage and necessitates thestoppage of the machine for repair. The object of the invention whichconstitutes the subject-matter of this patent is to render theyarn-guide yielding, so that its nib or beak from which the yarn runsmay give way without breakage when it comes in contact with an obstacle,t-hus obviating the further breakage of the parts of the machine.

The invention consists of certain combinations of mechanical deviceswhich are recited in detail at the close of this specification.

In order that the invention may be fully understood I have representedin the accom panyin g drawing, and will proceed to describe, ayarn-guide embodying my invention in the best form thus far devised byme, such yarnguide being applicable to machines of the Kilbourn andPaget class, in which the needles are arranged in a straight horizontalseries. The improvement, however, is applica ble to other classes ofknitting-machines.

Figure 1 represents a front view of the said guide. Fig. 2 represents aview of the under side of the same. Fig. 3 represents a side view of thesame, showing, by dotted lines, its normal position relatively to aneedle, and by full lines its position when deflected laterally bycontact with a needle. Fig. 4: represents a vertical transverse sectionof the same.

The yarn-guide represented in the accompanying drawings is arranged tobe used in a knitting-machine, in which the needles and sinkers arecarried past the yarn-guide; but the invention may be applied to thosemachines in which the yarn-guide is carried past the needles andsinkers. The beak or nib A of the yarn-guide is tubular, and isconnected with the shank B, which is connected with the stock C. Inorder that the nib may yield laterally when it is brought in contactwith an obstacle, it is made movable relatively to its shank by beingsecured to a plate, d, which is fitted at its inner side with a stud, e,that is received in a slot formed in the lower part of the shank B. Theinner end of the stud c is hooked onto a spring, f, which tends to drawthe plate and nib upward; and the upper end of the plate d-is notched tofit against a pin, 8, which holds the plate and nib down in its positionfor delivering yarn, and also holds the nib in its position centrally.As the notch in the upper end of the plate is shallow the contact of thenib, with a slight obstruction, detaches the notched end of the platefrom the holding-pin. Consequently, the plate can turn laterally uponthe stud e as a center to permit the nib to yield, and at the same timethe tension of the spring f draws the plate and nib upward, so thatbreakage by the lateral contact of the nib with an obstacle isefiectually prevented. When the obstacle is removed the nib can readilybe restored by the attendant to its working position by engaging thenotched end of the plate 01 with the holding-pin s.

In order that the yarn-guide may be permitted to yield bodily to anobstacle which is brought vertically into contact with it, the shank Bof the yarn-guide is connected with the stock C by means of a link, g,which permits the yarn-guide both to rise and to move outward. The shankis held laterally by means of check-pieces h h, which embrace the shankloosely between them. The upper end of the shank is held to the stock bya spring, j, which is applied to a stud, k, that is secured to the stockC. The shank is slotted, so that it can move freely on the stud k, and awasher, r, is provided to form a bearing for the spring. By reason ofthe connection of the guideshank B with its stock 0 by the link g, andof the loose connection effected by the spring j, the nib A is permittedto rise and move outward, and thus yield to an obstacle that wouldotherwise cause breakage; and when the obstacle is passed the action ofgravity, coupled with that of the link g, causes the nib to descend andmove backward to its working position. In order that the position of thenib of the guide may be adjusted vertically, the link 9 is not connectedrigidly to the shank, but is connected with it through the interventionof a movable bearing, 12, which is secured to the shank by a screw, t,which may be slacked and tightened, so that the link-bean ing n may bemoved to allow the guidenib to be raised or depressed, and to be securedin the desired position. The shank of the yarnguide is fitted with aplate, I, perforated with guide-eyes o v, to make tension on the yarn onits way to the tubular nib.

The invention is not restricted to the peculiar construction of theparts represented in the drawing, as these may be varied ascircumstances or the views of different constructors render expedient.

I do not claim, broadly, the combination of a yarn-guide with a hinge,so that it may be vibrated by a cam for the purpose of changingpositively the working position of its nib; but

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, substantially as before setforth, of the shank of the yarn-guide, with a movable yielding nib,whereby the said nib is permitted to move independently of the drivingmechanism of the guide when the nib meets an obstacle.

2. The combination, substantially as before set forth, of the shank ofthe yarn-guide, the movable nib, and the spring which acts upon saidnib.

3. The combination, substantially as before set forth, of the shank ofthe yarn-guide, the stock, and the link.

Witness my hand this 11th day of September, A. D. 1875.

ALFRED B. JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

LUCIUS P. PORTER, HENRY MGMURTRY.

